Getting ready in the central plains.

My wife just got home from Sam's Club with another $300 worth of canned/dry goods, chlorine bleach, soap, etc.. She said they were offering a two-burner propane stove on legs for $99. Also said a man in line with her bought 30 (yes, thirty) cases of Ozarka drinking water in 1/2 litre bottles. Things are heating up here in south-central Kansas.

Our house is the only one with a wood-burning fireplace in our immediate family. We are also the only ones who don't have to live hand-to-mouth (yet) so we are planning on having an extra 10-12 people to care for when TSHTF. We have spent $500 to date on supplies, but we are not in good shape yet. I am still waiting to buy guns and ammo, extra fuel, water, silver dollars, etc.

My brother-in-law and I are old country boys who know how to farm, gunsmith, make ammo, and fix things, however, we are both in our fifties and we have both sustained major injuries in the last two years. I guess we will have to pass these things along to our sons and daughters as we go through this. It will be interesting to see how they will exist without CDs, TVs, hot cars, movies and Mcdonalds.

I want this problem to get fixed, go away, leave us alone - but I don't think it will. My wife (nurse practitioner) and I (progammer/analyst) are spending our retirement money in hopes of surviving the rollover. I don't want to whine because we are in a lot better position to come out O.K. than millions of other folks, I just resent the hell of it.

This discussion group is invaluable to us for it's (mostly) thoughtful and informative content. The main group (and you know who you are) have been very helpful and encouraging to listen to. Thank you.

I just don't know if I am doing enough, and I don't know exactly how to keep our money (the little that we have) safe. I am sure that there will be bank runs. The public's perception of the Y2K problem will be worse, in some respects, than the actual infrastructure failures. Everyone I know personally and at work is going to draw down as much of their cash as they can get there hands on.

The large mainframe applications that I have been working on here are finished as of this week. By finished, I mean that my team has completed final testing of remediated code and the inventory systems for this large manufacturer are working - that is projecting requirements correctly out into the 21st century. I have no idea how the other departments are coming along.

My point is this - I should be tackling another non-compliant system. I put my resume' on four internet sites, including a large gov't site, but have not received one phone call in three months.
What is going on? I am a heavy-weight with thirty plus years of experience on almost all U.S. computers that have been made since the fifties. I can solve almost any problem on almost any system. If the corporate/gov't world is serious about fixing this problem, they should keep people like me buried in work.

The number of DGI's in this area is decreasing at an exponential rate. There are still too many of them, but it looks like the media is getting ready to stampede the ones who can prepare, and make predators out of the ones who can't.

Good luck to all, and know that we will help anyone who asks. I read the postings here twice a day, and will continue until it stops.

Good to see another pro here Mike. I've been at it for 31 years myself. Bunch of us lurking here. Interesting that you have no reply
to your resume. I get about 1 call per month looking to lure me away to work on Y2K projects, but I'm very happy where I am. If you want, I'll send the next call your way. This is a real e-mail address if you want to send me any info. Anyway, keep those posts flowing. We need all the help we can get here!
-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 19, 1999.

Hi Mike, I'm in your neighboring state. We're only stocking for 2 people, plus a little extra help for two neighbors, but I haven't bought nearly as much food as Shadow. I think he must be feeding his private army. Even if I bought that much, I wouldn't have any place to store it.

My husband and I are in our early 60's, we both retired 3 years ago. He worked with computer phone systems,and we too resent having to go back to chopping wood and lighting lamps. We had plans for our "golden years" that didn't include so much hard work!! Been there-done that. haha Glad to hear from someone from my part of the
U.S.

I have been very disturbed by the lack of demand for programmers for
Y2K remediation. I feel that if the level of activity that companies
and government SAY is going on were actually occurring, we would be
virtually flooded with desperate pleas for personnel.

Nor do you see columns of newspaper ads for Y2K remediators. Why?
If this great remediation "push" that is being publicized is going
on, where are they getting the people??

More and more I suspect that much of the work going on is being done
primarily with an eye to establishing "Due Diligence" for future
lawsuits.........

Just a thought from someone on a non technical part of the "front
lines"

With reference to lack of demand for remediation programmers: lots of
that remediation is farmed out offshore, especially to places like
India.

Money - Is there anyone who believes that if controls are put on
withdrawals the government will give us notice? Bear in mind they
can't afford to wait until it's a real problem.

Mike, do you go to yard, garage and estate sales in your part of the
world? Check also storage units near you, see when they'll next have
a sale on abandoned goods. At yard sales I've been able to pick up
all sorts of tools, camping equipment, oil lamps, candles, grills,
low-tech food processors (graters, slicers, strainers, grinders), on
and on. I'll be looking for a good kerosene heater now that srping is
almost here and sales are being held again. For groceries, it might
be worth your while to locate and trek over to a Big Lots or other
surplus/salvage type grocery store--there are great bargains to be had
in canned goods and cleaning supplies. Is there a food co-op in your
area where you can load up on bulk supplies? Check your yellow pages,
you never know. Good hunting!

Shadow */*, did you say "400 pds of rice 500" ? Do you mean you spent
$500.00 on 400 pounds of rice? Gads. Rice here is about $6-$7 for a
20 lb bag. By my math that means 400 lbs should equal $120-$140. I
understand that if you buy 50 lb bags (I haven't) the price goes down
a bit.

Mike,
I wouldn't buy too much chlorine bleach just yet. It doesn't have all
that great a shelf life. I'll agree with the posting above that $500
is just a small start. I've projected to spend about $5000 on food
and personal items. I've already bought a 12KW diesel genset and 1500
gallon of fuel (stabilized). I also have my water system in place for
the most part. I have an adequate supply of guns and ammo.
Self-protection orientation is taking place with my family now. Most
of this is not all that new to me as I was one of the few who prepared
for a thermo-nuclear war several years ago. I have dusted off and
refurbished much of those preparations, too. I'm an old fart, too,
and I will have to rely on the younger and stronger; like you, I can
provide the expertise.

Gerald, you're right about the bleach. From what I understand, it
generally starts to lose its effectiveness at six months, so that by
one year, you have to use twice as much. I believe the strength
of the smell is an indication of its power.

For storing tap water, I understand you just rinse out the containers
with a solution of 4 drops bleach:1 quart of water, then store your
clean water in the coolest dark place you have. For other types of
water, see Water thread in the forum archives.

Hi, again. Since you are a farmboy you can relate to this - why not
buy several hundred pounds of survival grains: corn, wheat,
soybeans, barley, whatever; from your local feed mill. Cheap, cheap,
who cares if it is sold for feeding animals? At least you will have
a large quantity of bulk food - and fast. Store it in 5-gal buckets
or even 55-gal drums. Not all of us can afford those expensive
survival food packs.